Caribbean Cement Company Q1 Profit Doubles Due to Construction Boom

• For the first quarter ending March 2021, Caribbean Cement (CCC) reported a net profit of $1.53Bn (EPS: $1.79), which translates to a 215.9% increase over the $483.10Mn (EPS: $0.57) earned over the same period in 2020. This was due to a 31.2% (or $1.42Bn) increase in revenues, which management attributed to an increase in the demand for cement during the period. The company was able to achieve record production of more than 100,000 metric tonnes of cement in March.
• The sector was already showing momentum during the latter half of 2020, with two consecutive quarters of growth (Q3: 7.2% & Q4: 6.2%), when most of the sectors in the goods-producing industry contracted consistently due to the impact of the pandemic.
• The government has expressed plans to ramp up expenditure on infrastructure during the 2021/22 fiscal year, and there are various residential, commercial, and hotel expansion projects planned for this year, which should help to sustain demand for CCC’s products.
• The improvement in the company’s operating performance was also influenced by its cost-containment measures, which resulted in operating expenses declining by $69.37Mn (or 10.6%) to $582.01Mn.
• Caribbean Cement’s stock price has appreciated by 40.7% since the start of the year, and currently trades at a P/E of 17.7x earnings, which is below the main market industrials and materials sector average of 18.5x earnings.

(Source: Caribbean Cement Company Financials)